class. i think it is quite telling that earlier this evening, last evening, grover norquist said he is for this bill, but our former secretary of labor bob reich is opposed. so maybe now, maybe now i guess we are all believers in trickledown economics. not i. i guess we redefine the middle class as those making $400,000 a year when, in fact, that represents the top 1% of income earners in america, not the middle class. so i guess that we now accept as normal practice in reaching bipartisan deals that the most vulnerable in our country like those who are out of work and who depend on unemployment benefits can be held hostage as a bargaining chip for more tax breaks for the richest among us. now, i'm not saying that everything in this deal is bad. there are some good parts of this, but i repeat i am concerned about this constant drift bit by bit, deal by deal toward more deficits, less job creation, more unfairness, less economic justice, a society where the gap grows wider between the few who have much and the many who have too little. so, mr. president, for these reasons, i must in
